Mr. Volkman's 5th Grade Classes5th Grade Reading and Social Studies--->
The Reading Lab is where bright young readers come to discuss, through in-depth dialogue, literature that they are reading._____
The Social Studies Parlor is where students respond to critical questions related to different aspects of Social Studies, and then discuss their responses through thoughtful discussions.

For this week's blog you are going to have to explain which reading packet story has been your favorite. You will also need to say which packet has been your least favorite. Make sure to give two details, from the story's, to explain why you liked and didn't like thhe packets.

First, if you are finished your blog read the comments that your teacher gave you. If you have been asked to fix your blog please do that.

Second, comment on at least 6 other blogs. When you comment I want you to do the following: specifically say one part of the blog that the author did well (and say why they did well), ask the author one question based on their blog.

Third, answer any questions that have been posted on all of your blogs (past and present).

For this weeks blog we are going to be looking at 3 different sections in The Hobbit: the part in the book where the dwarves clean Bilbo's dishes, where the dwarves sing the song about their Mountain home, and when Bilbo and the dwarves 'fight' the trolls. Watch the below links and answer the following question (the links will show the movie's rendition of the book)

This is a two part question. First, how does the movie add to your appreciation of the book? Even if you do not like the movie, think positive. How did these 3 scenes help you to appreciate what Tolkien wrote?

Part 2: How does the movie take away from the book? What parts of these 3 scenes take away from what Tolkien tried to do?

The Hobbit and The Iceberg Hermit are two very different books. One is realistic fiction and the other is a fantasy. One book has a young man as the main character, and the other book has a short, hairy-footed Hobbit as the main character. However, with all of these differences there are some similarities.

Your blog for this week is to give one similarity between Allan and Bilbo. Make sure to use specific details from the stories to support your answer (you should have a detail from The Hobbit and one from the Iceberg Hermit). Finally, to get a 4 you will need to give 2 similarities between the characters.

Laurie was very careful, in the story, to make sure that his parents did not know that it was really him misbehaving in school. However, no one is perfect, and if we look carefully Laurie may have made a slip up in telling his parents about "Charles." Find two times in the story where a person might be able to tell that it was really Laurie making the poor choices in school, and not Charles. You are to quote the details in the story that you find. Make sure to explain why you chose those details too.

Now that we have finished reading The Iceberg Hermit it is time to reflect on the story. For this blog, I would like you to write about the one event/happening that surprised you the most. It could be from the beginning, middle or the end of the book. Don't forget to explain why this event/happening surprised you so much. Finally, you are to say when you think the climax occured (HINT: remember that the climax is when the problem is about to be solved.)

Our story is being told from Allan's point of view; the narrator is telling us only Allan's thoughts. We call this type of writing 3rd person limited. It is called third person because the author uses the pronoun 'he' 'him' 'she' 'her' 'his.' We call it limitied because the author only tells us one characters thoughts and feelings; we learn what the other charcters think/feel through their actions and what they say. So, for example, when Allan does something, or when he experiences something, we immediately know what he thinks.

Your question, for this week, is how would the story change if the story was told from Nancy's (the polar bear) point of view? Some ideas to consider while writing your blog include: How would this change the plot of the story? Would the mood of the story change? Would certain events be explained more? Would certain events be explained less (i.e. would Nancy give less detail about when the other ship didn't see Allan? Would Nancy give more detail about when Allan saw the Eskimo woman?)

Make sure to give 2-3 ways the story would change. As always, give details from the story to support your reasoning.

An inference is when you think something might be true in a book. You take what you already know to be true in a book to make an educated guess about something in a book. You make an inference when you make a prediction, or when you try to understand why a character made a certain choice or action.

Your blog question for this week is:

Which details from our book support the inference that Allan feels like he will never get off the island? Make sure to explain why you chose these details.

Looking back at the short story "Faith and Eddie" how is Faith and Allan, from The Iceberg Hermit, the same? Remember to look at how they act, talk and think to see what they are like. Furthermore, how is Faith and Allan different? You are to give one similarity and one difference. Finally, if Allan had been in the same position as Faith (learning a new language in a strange country) would he have ran away like Faith? Remember to include details from the story to support all 3 parts of your answer.

[[Dr. Cornelius]] ---> Former tutor for Prince Caspian, King of Narnia. Presently running Dr. Cornelius' Reading Lab for bright young pupils.
[[Nathan Hale]] --->Teacher and American Revolution Spy currently over-seeing the Social Studies Parlor.